Quantitative measures of within-host viral genetic diversity
Lara Fuhrmann, Kim Philipp Jablonski, Niko Beerenwinkel
Abstract
The genetic diversity of virus populations within their hosts is known to influence disease progression, treatment outcome, drug resistance, cell tropism, and transmission risk, and the study of dynamic changes of genetic heterogeneity can provide insights into the evolution of viruses. Several measures to quantify within-host genetic diversity capturing different aspects of diversity patterns in a sample or population are used, based on incidence, relative frequencies, pairwise distances, or phylogenetic trees. Here, we review and compare several of these measures.
Topics & Concepts
BiologyGenetic diversityEvolutionary biologyPhylogenetic treeGenetic variationHost (biology)PopulationTransmission (telecommunications)Pairwise comparisonPhylogeneticsGeneticsGeneDemographyStatisticsElectrical engineeringMathematicsEngineeringSociologyEvolution and Genetic DynamicsPlant Virus Research StudiesBacteriophages and microbial interactions